ST. MARY S ELEMENTARY SCHOOL NEWSNOTE VOLUME 1, ISSUE 9 DECEMBER 6, 017 FROM THE PRINCIPAL S DESK... Happy Wednesday! I wanted to follow up to my email yesterday regarding the different ways that you will receive notification if the school will be closed. Through our mass communication program, you will receive one or more of the following types of notifications: A phone call from: 1 (866) 419-5001 A text from: 761-7 An email from: kwitowskik@smeschool.com We are also closed if Lancaster Central School District is closed. This will be posted on the TV stations. I would like to congratulate our participants in this past weekends X-STREAM Games at St. Joe s. Our robotics team lead by Luke placed nd & Joseph placed 5th over all, with a total of 38 teams competing - well done! We also had teams participating in the Arcade Academy & You re the Balm sale. All teams did a wonderful job in their category & representing SME! Our Living Nativity will take place on Saturday, December 16 th. It is a beautiful event to celebrate the birth of Jesus. I hope to see many of our families there. God's Peace and Love, Mrs. Kwitowski UPCOMING EVENTS: 1/8 - NO FAST Club 1/14 - Gr. K-5 Book Swap part I 1/15 - Gr. K-5 Book Swap part II 1/16 - Christmas Concert & Living Nativity 1/ - 1/9 - No School, Christmas Break 1/1-1/ - No School 1/3 - School Resumes 1/5 - Christian Witness Mass, 8:30am FUNDRAISERS BY THE NUMBERS KITCHEN NEWS LIVING NATIVITY SCRIP: From Nov 7 Dec 3, 017, the Scrip rebate profit earned for the school was $1,491.69. Monthly Scrip Monthly Scrip Sales Goal Profit Goal $30.000.00 $1,500.00 November November Sales-to-Date Profit-to-Date $47,68.00 $,767.0 CANDY BAR SALE: 016-017: 10 Families Opted Out 10 x boxes ea = $480 lost Profit 017-018: 57 Families have not participated 57 x boxes = $736 missing Profit Short top selling families = over 400 boxes $9,600 missing profit AUTUMN GOLD: 016-017: Tickets Sold: 593 Profit: $17,649 017-018: Tickets Sold: 548 Profit: $14,094 On Thursday, December 1st the Kitchen is offering a free pizza lunch to every student! Simply have your child indicate to their teacher in the morning that they would like to purchase the main lunch ( A lunch option) and they will receive their lunch at no charge! Please note that this is for the pizza option only. POINSETTIA SALE Thank you to everyone who purchased a poinsettia or wreath from our 8th grade class. We hope that they add the perfect touch to your Christmas décor! ART CLUB ART Club will officially begin on Wednesday, December 13th and appreciate your understanding in the delayed start. On Saturday, December 16 th, 017 at 6:00pm, Saint Mary s Elementary School will present JOY TO THE WORLD! a Living Nativity Christmas Celebration. Our school band will present their Christmas Conc ert b egin n in g a t 6pm. The Living Nativity presentation will begin at 7pm. Students will present this beautiful depiction of our Lord s birth in the SME school gymnasium. Grades K-8 will be a part of this production! Students will be singing and acting with a backdrop of the manger including live animals, just as it was on that busy day in Bethlehem. We hope that you will join us! INSIDE THIS ISSUE: PRINCIPAL S DESK 1 BY THE NUMBERS 1 KITCHEN NEWS 1 ART CLUB 1 POINSETTIA SALE 1 LIVING NATIVITY 1 MISSION POSSIBLE HSA SCRIP ATHLETICS BATTLE OF THE BOOKS FEBRUARY FREEZE 8TH GR. BOTTLE DRIVE STAY IN THE KNOW
ST. MARY S ELEMENTARY SCHOOL St. Mary s Hill Lancaster, NY 14086 Phone: 716-683-11 Fax: 716-683-134 www.smeschool.com F O LLOW US ON F ACE BOO K! V I SI BLE EXAMPLES OF GOSPE L LIV ING ATHLETICS Basketball practices and games are in full swing! All parents need to fill out the A- Parent permission form and the A-3 Sport Code of Ethics form and return to your Head Coach as soon as possible! (Please do NOT turn them into the Main Office.) Your basketball coach should have given these forms to you by now. Basketball coaches, please report game scores/highlights to: Athletics@smeschool.com so they can be included in the weekly Newsnotes. FEBRUARY FREEZE Mark your calendars for the 018 February Freeze! This basketball tournament, hosted by SME will be for 5th through 8th graders. It will take place from Thursday, February 15 -Sunday, February 18 at SME. If you would like to help in the preparation for this tournament, please email Julie Wolford at jmwolford7473@ yahoo. com. HSA Notices went out to any family who has yet to return or purchase the KidStuff Coupon book(s) on Monday 1/4. Thank you to those who have already responded accordingly. If you have any questions, please email Amanda Kuhn at secretary@smeschool.com. Additional books are going home to anyone selling 3+ on Today! 4TH GRADE SERVICE PROJECT Our 4th graders will be sponsoring a dress down day on Monday, Dec. 11th for $1 in support of the Heifer International Program. Heifer International is an organization that changes communities by providing them the resources and training for a sustainable future. Their mission is to work with communities to end world hunger and poverty and to care for the Earth. BATTLE OF THE BOOKS The 018 Battle of the Books will take place on Friday, January 1th at 6:00pm. 4th/5th grade Titles Rollergirl by Victoria Jamieson Swindle by Gordon Korman Tornado by Betsy Byars 6th/7th/8th grade Titles El Deafo by Cece Bell The Teacher's Funeral by Richard Peck The Menagerie by Tui and Kari Sutherland SET will be buying copies of the books for the school library. Please see the registration form in the blue folder today! MISSION POSSIBLE Last Friday we counted a whopping 83 cans/boxes of food that was donated by our SME families. Thank you! To date, we have collected 677 can/boxes of food to the Buffalo City Mission! Our collection period ends this Friday December 8th. We have more days to collect food. Please keep the cans/boxes of food coming. Thank you all for your generosity and your willingness to serve the poor. CANDY BAR SALE UPDATE Thank You to all who ordered boxes from our last parent meeting. 0+ new orders came in, clearing out all of our Gertrude specialty boxes. We have filled all orders at this point except for Gertrude Hawk O-la-la Luscious & Light and Lively. We are waiting for Gertrude Hawk to send in several flavors that make up those boxes, but unfortunately something broke in the production line, and that is the delay in filling your order. We appreciate your patience in this situation. SCRIP The faculty/staff wish lists are now available in the Scrip office. As always, if you place your order on Monday, it will be sent home on Friday. There is only 1 order date left before Christmas! The last order for 017 will be 1/11/17. The SCRIP office will be open 5 days a week through 1/0 for walk in orders! We have the following low denomination gift cards available while supplies last: Amazon.com - $10 Applebee s - $10 Barnes & Noble - $5 CVS - $10 Olive Garden - $10 Home Depot - $10 IHOP - $10 Outback - $10 Panera - $5 Red Lobster - $10 Regal - $10 Starbucks - $5 Target - $10 Walmart - $10 Please note that Olive Garden & Red Lobster are no longer available on the same gift card. There are still plenty of traditional flavors of Niagara, Fowler, and Gertrude available! Order forms can be found on the SME website, and in the office, or simply send in a note with Child's name, grade, brand and flavor and we will send it home. Candy Bars make great stocking stuffers, or as part of a teacher gift, or as part of an office exchange. Everybody loves chocolate! Thank you for your continued support of this important fundraiser! 8TH GRADE BOTTLE DRIVE 8th Grade welcomes ALL SME families to join in and drop off recyclable bottles and cans in the front foyer. Simply drop off a bag as you drop your child off in the morning, or picking up after school, or anytime the school is open. 8th graders - please bring in your bottles and cans to the SME library with your name on the bag. That is the only way you will get credit for your collection. Bottle Drive totals are posted in the middle school hallway. STAY IN THE KNOW Save the Date: Christmas Concert 1/16, 6:00pm Save the Date: Joy to the World, Living Nativity Celebration, Saturday December 16 @ 7:00 Save the Date: February Freeze Basketball Tournament /15 - /18/18
Faith Focus This week s family connection activity is based on the Gospel reading for Sunday December 10th. Peace, Mrs. Hoag Second Sunday of Advent, Cycle B Gospel Reading Mark 1:1-8 John the Baptist preached repentance and baptized the people, in preparation for the one who would baptize with the Holy Spirit. Family Connection *From Loyola Press The season of Advent invites us to renew our lives in preparation for the coming of Jesus. The people who heard the message of John the Baptist repented for their sins and were baptized as a sign of God s forgiveness. In Baptism, our sins are forgiven, and we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, who helps us in our life of discipleship. Led by the Holy Spirit, we use this Advent season to renew our lives so that we, like John the Baptist, might prepare the way for Jesus. As you gather together as a family, talk about ways in which the example of others has called you to be a follower of Jesus. Name the people who have been examples to you of Christian discipleship and describe their characteristics that you have tried to emulate. Read together today s Gospel, Mark 1:1-8. As John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus, Baptism commissions us to prepare the way of the Lord. The gift of the Holy Spirit leads us to continually renew our lives so that we might lead others to Jesus. As a family, identify at least one action that you will take this week to try to be more faithful followers of Jesus. Conclude in prayer together that God will receive this action and use it to lead others to Jesus. Pray the Prayer to the Holy Spirit. Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful. And kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And you will renew the face of the earth. Lord, by the light of the Holy Spirit you have taught the hearts of your faithful. In the same Spirit help us to relish what is right and always rejoice in your consolation. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.